We arrived at The Red Fox on a crisp, sunny autumn day and were greeted by an open log burning fire… instantly radiating a cosy atmosphere. Greeted by the manager, David Green, who is a delightful chap, we were shown to our table overlooking the extensive grounds. The cows grazing on the nearby farmer’s field gave us a sense of ‘Countryside’, although we were only 5 minutes from the M53.
From the menu, for starters we opted to try the Charcuterie board, Pan fried scallops and Snowdonia black bomber and roasted sunflower seed cheesecake. We asked David to pair our starters with a wine, and he recommended Castell de Raimat 2015 as the citrus flavours works well with the scallops and vanilla flavours with the cheesecake. It was a perfect match and had a lovely nutty flavour!
The Charcuterie board arrived and ‘oh my gosh’ – the selection was vast! it included everything from chicken liver pate (the best we’ve ever tried) to cured meats and pickles.. there was something on the board for everyone’s taste buds. The scallops were delicious – served on a bed of pea puree, it was a perfect combination. The Snowdonia black bomber cheesecake, looked amazing – and it also tasted amazing! You could really taste the cheese in the aftertaste. For mains, we chose Smoked Haddock fishcake with poached egg and a warm tartare sauce, Trio of Game and a warm crispy beef salad. There was a perfect waiting time between the mains arriving and us finishing our starters. To accompany the main dishes, David recommended the Sunlight Blonde beer to go with the beef salad and a bottle of Passori – which has plum and raisin flavours and is ideal for Christmas. When the dishes arrived, we were very impressed with the portion size – they were very generous! The trio of game was heavenly – especially the venison and red suet pudding, although the duck faggot was too! The Smoked Haddock fishcake was beautifully and delicately served with a perfect poached egg, it was divine! The crispy beef salad was served with a sweet chilli dressing and cashew nuts – it had an authentic Chinese style taste to this dish! Yum!
As normal, we were feeling full at this point but couldn’t resist a dessert. We ordered the Classic Sticky Toffee Pudding, Clementine Tart in a chocolate pastry base with raspberry sorbet and a Hot Waffle with caramelized banana, toffee sauce and honeycomb ice cream – all were incredible! The clementine tart was very refreshing and the toffee pudding, not heavy but light. David introduced a dessert wine to us, Sauternes. This wine had a touch of elegance to it – we would definitely recommend.
Overall, the food was outstanding, the surroundings exquisite, the atmosphere brilliant and customer service was second to none – the team at The Red Fox are such lovely people and we most definitely will return!
The Red Fox is perfect for couples, families, business meetings and dog owners!
Booking is advised. To book call, 0151 353 2920 or visit www.brunningandprice.co.uk/redfox/
